We are starting in on our summertime listener requests today with a show all about making the most of your outdoor space, no matter how big or small, as inexpensively as possible.

Sponsors: 

• We love you guys. You are the third most important reason we keep doing this podcast behind liking each other and the money. And if you would like to support the show head to FrugalFriendsPodcast.com/support to find free and inexpensive ways you can help us big time with little effort!Listeners like you:
• Want to get your neighbor to mow their overgrown lawn? Send neighbor kids to knock on their door with a lawn mower various days throughout the week. The neighbor kids will either make some money mowing the lawn or the neighbor will eventually be shamed into doing it themself. Neighbor shame, if you care more about your neighborhood looking nice than actually being nice. Neighbor shame:

Notable Notes:

What the Internet has to say:

This article from Budget Dumpster gives us some great ideas for making our yards look great on a budget

What Jen + Jill have to say:

• Vertical Garden - consider this approach if short on space AND can be inexpensive to make if using recycled materials (i.e bottles, containers)
• Utilize Color - consider how you use paint; if you have ‘mismatched’ planters but prefer a more clean look - paint it!
• Look for plant swaps in your area
• Plant useful! FORM AND FUNCTION
  • Rosemary - fleas+ticks
  • Peppermint - ants, spiders mosquitoes
  • Basil - mosquitoes + house flies
  • Lavender (the cadillac of plants!)- moths, fleas, flies, mosquitos
• Ground cover - natural perennial ground cover (i.e. sedum, creeping periwinkle, violets, pansies, snow glories, moss flox)
• Incorporate inexpensive lighting, fire pit, seating
• Compost instead of mulch, free mulch from tree companies
• Save old tires from the dump

More from the Internet:

This article from An Oregon Cottage gives us a list of the top 10 plants to grow that give us a great return on our money

More from Jen + Jill: 

• Herbs - easy to grow, not bothered by pests, grow in mediocre soil
  • BASIL - freezes well, also PESTO!
• Squash - super high yield at peak (veggie noodles, breads, stir fry..)
  • *important to pay attention to your climate and the varieties and types of fruits/veggies that can be grown in your area
• Lettuce and greens - hearty and fast grower
• Hot peppers - we love salsa!

BILL OF THE WEEK - Thank you Amanda for sharing your utility bill that you dropped by $13

frugalfriendspodcast.com/billIf you want to submit your bill of the week visit to leave us a bill

Lightning Round

How we do/will maintain our lawns

• Jill
  • Personally most concerned about decreasing maintenance - plan to have little to no grass in backyard
  • Plant usefully - I like flowers, but I also REALLY like food - veggies will be priority
  • Plan to live life outdoors quite often - creating oasis (with my own hands) will save money on labor and hopefully in other areas in the long run
  • Propogate my own - from my own yard/garden AND others - considering this before I buy any plants!
• Jen- I kill everything so I don’t have a garden. We compost and use well water to water our lawn.

Wrap-Up:

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